"Munich" is a 2005 masterpiece by director Steven Spielberg. It describes the terrorist organization launched by the Israeli Moussad agent after 11 Israeli athletes were brutally killed by Palestinian terrorists at the Olympic Games held in Munich, Germany in 1972. The incident of revenge assassination. The film adheres to Spielberg's consistent "cruel realism" style, and truly reproduces the cruelty and peaceful hopelessness of the Palestinian-Israeli nation and land dispute. Profound themes, unique perspectives, and skillful handling techniques all prove Spielberg's directorial talents and a high degree of control over complex political themes. Xiao Ke thinks this is Spielberg's best movie since Schindler's List.
The beginning of the film is a replay of the Munich massacre. The bloody scene and the chaotic world immediately brought the audience into a kind of suffocating tension and despair. After this, the protagonist Avner played by Eric Bana led the audience into his Moussad agent group, and completed the assassination revenge plan one by one. On the one hand, Spielberg portrays the nervousness of the Israeli agents in completing their missions, on the other hand, he also focuses on the political views of the assassinated targets, their lives, preferences, and relatives. Although the audience stood on the stand of Israeli agents, they were nervous about the assassination process and rejoiced at the completion of the mission, but they also had to feel sorry for the Palestinians and their families who were killed, and their hearts also faintly raised a sense of inexplicability. Unknown guilt. This sense of guilt is the key to Spielberg's ability to seize the audience. The agents in the film also asked themselves in the bloody assassinations: Where is the evidence supporting the killing? Where is the end of revenge? Where is the way out for the Palestine-Israel dispute? For such a question, Xiao Ke only came up with the answer: "People are in the rivers and lakes, and they can't help themselves." In addition to sighing, I only feel the smallness and stupidity of human beings, like a mouse trapped in a box, exhausted after thousands of turns, the way out is still an unrealistic dream. Violence, blood, frustration, frustration, despair.
With such black themes and heavy topics, don't you drive people crazy in two and a half hours? In order to avoid such a situation, many humorous factors were added to the film, such as the embarrassment of the agents in completing the mission and some stupid unexpected failures to ease tension. At the same time, because the storyline is a series of assassination missions, like "Mission Impossible", these missions are mainly arranged in some picturesque European towns, the gorgeous colors and the pastoral style and the killing battlefield are in sharp contrast. From another angle, the protagonist has experienced the pain of separation of spirit and flesh.
There are two places where the film is most moving, or shocking. The first is the conversation between the two about the homeland and the land when Avner encountered the Palestinian agents. The second is that Avner confided to his mother his doubts about his behavior, and his mother's determination to defend the sacred land of the country. If you look at news reports and editorial comments on weekdays, you feel that the Palestine-Israel dispute still has hope of resolving, and that the “land for peace” plan might succeed one day, then after these two scenarios, all hopes and longings will be completely obliterated. Shattered. The word right or wrong has become extremely shallow and pale in the face of such intricate ethnic contradictions. There is no way out, or even if there is a way, none is not full of blood and vendetta. The concept of despair instantly became so clear and concrete, so powerful and absolute, it swallowed up everything about the beauty of human nature a little bit, leaving only meaningless bones exposed to the wilderness.
Located at the center of this desperate vortex, Avner is full of a strong sense of national dignity and national honor on the one hand, and pursues the kindness and beauty of human nature on the other hand. The spirit and the flesh are being stripped alive, and the result of both is that they have lost their final destination and are at a loss as to what to do. This deep pain in the soul is already a situation that tears and sorrow cannot reach. In addition to alcohol, drugs, sex, and paralysis of all human senses, Xiao Ke can't see any exit.
At the end of the film, the sex scene between Avner and his wife and the bloody scenes of the Munich massacre are intertwined, reaching a climax at the same time at the end. Although such a processing technique has a strong visual impact, Xiao Ke does not like such a straightforward means of expression, because his preaching intention is too obvious, which weakens the rhythm of the entire film. At the same time, the "brutal realism" style that carried out the entire film was suddenly replaced by symbolism, and the change was too abrupt and unnatural. In addition, Spielberg's superb narrative skills are perfectly performed in the film, and the editing of music performances is also remarkable.
Finally, Xiao Ke boldly predicted that "Munich" and "Brokeback Mountain" will be nominated for Best Picture and Best Director together. However, due to the final error of "Munich", Spielberg will lose to Ang Lee in the best director project.
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